The mysterious case of the lost chicken

When Donna Miazga showed up for work at her east Vancouver community centre early one rainy Saturday morning, just as she did every week, she was startled by an unusual noise: clucking.

Running towards her was none other than a drenched chicken.

“I was quite shocked.”

Miazga found some crackers, crushed them up, fed the chicken, and got to work. But it kept clucking and tapping on the window for more.

Hazel Hollingdale, vice-president of the centre’s community association, arrived on the scene later that day and joined Miazga in wondering what to do with this mystery chicken.

Miazga’s feathered discovery highlights a question that has surfaced since the City of Vancouver passed a bylaw two years ago allowing Vancouverites to keep chickens in their backyards: not “Why did the chicken cross the road?” but “What do you do when you find a chicken that has flown the coop?”

“It was pouring rain and it was the end of the day on Saturday so there was nowhere that we could really call to ask about what to do with her,” said Hollingdale.

Worried that the local coyotes and raccoons would make a meal out of the bird, Hollingdale made a bold decision and took matters into her own hands. She brought the chicken home and made a nest for it.

In her bathroom.

The chicken in Hollingdale’s bathroom, nestled between the shower and sink.(Photo: Hazel Hollingdale)

A hen in the bathroom

After buying some pine pellets and a cage from the pet store, the bathroom of her cozy one-bedroom basement suite, which Hollingdale shares with her husband and two cats, was swiftly converted into a makeshift chicken coop.

“She just kind of huddled down and she’d cover herself in pine. And then every time we walked in, she’d like ‘Cluck cluck cluck.’”

Soon after moving her in, Hollingdale gave the hen a name: Henrietta.

City chickens flying the coop

As more chickens move to the city, cases like Henrietta’s could become more common.

Since chickens are relatively new to Vancouver neighbourhoods, it’s likely that most city dwellers — like Hollingdale — are unaware of who to contact in cases of homeless chickens.

The city’s animal control department is the official body for dealing with stray urban chickens and the place to call for those with lost poultry on their hands or in their bathrooms. But that information is buried deep in the “growing food” section of the City’s website.

“Could be an Old English Game”

Hollingdale’s Craigslist ad.

Hollingdale wasn’t sure how to find Henrietta’s owner, so again she took matters into her own hands. This time, she turned to North America’s most popular lost-and-found service, Craigslist. Amidst the more traditional posts for missing keys, wallets, cats and dogs, Hollingdale posted an

She also took to Twitter in search of the hen’s owner. “Did anyone lose a chicken near @RenfrewParkCC?,” tweeted Hollingdale, who then specified the suspected breed. “Could be an Old English Game.” The tweet was accompanied by a photo of Henrietta.

Hollingdale asked that people call to identify the chicken. No one called.

Chicken run

While the urban chicken population has grown over the past couple of years – over 90 people have now registered their flocks – chickens on the run are not commonplace in Vancouver.

Animal control takes in two to 10 chickens a year. And not all of these lost chickens have escaped from urban coops. Some of the birds are found after falling from poultry trucks.

“We usually get a pretty even split between backyard chickens and broiler chickens. A chicken here or there falls off the truck when they are on their way to the rendering plant,” explained Sarah Hicks, a manager at animal control.